Indiana, U.S. Education Varies by Age Group

Citizens of Indiana and the nation have made forward strides in the past
decade in educational attainment. More of us had completed college in
2000 than was the case in 1990 according to the latest Census data. Those
changes are detailed in the accompanying tables and graphics.

Table 1 presents the data on educational attainment
by level and age for the nation and Indiana. By following each column
down, the distribution of education within an age group can be seen.

In Figure 1, the data for individuals ages 25 to 34 are shown. In 1990,
for the U.S., 22.7 percent had completed college, while in Indiana that number
was 18.3 percent-a gap of 4.4 percent. By 2000, the gap had closed to 4.1
percent with the U.S. at 27.5 percent and Indiana at 23.4 percent.

Figures 2, 3 and 4 repeat the display of the
data for successively older age groups. Space constraints do not allow
a detailed recitation of the data, but certain highlights can be noted.

Although Indiana closed the gap between itself
and the U.S. among 25- to 34-year-olds, the gap increased for the 45-
to 64-year-old and 65 and older groups. This would be consistent with
out-migration of more educated people from the state.

In the 35 to 44 age group, the U.S. saw a decline
in the percent of those who had completed college, while Indiana had no
change in its percentage. This suggests that nationally a key portion
of the labor force (those ages 35 to 44) have less college training today
than their counterparts ten years earlier. Is this a result of the in-migration
of less educated people? That hypothesis is consistent with the increases
in the percent of individuals in the same age group who had not completed
high school and those who had completed high school but not college.

Looking at the population ages 35 to 44 as compared with the group 25 to
34 ten years earlier (the cohort), Table 1 shows a decline in educational
attainment (see highlighted boxes). Unless there is some bias in death, the
educational attainment of a cohort should not fall. But this could occur if
in-migrants had lowered the educational attainment levels. The same phenomenon
can be observed in the Indiana data.

What is the status of educational attainment
in Indiana counties? Figure 5 summarizes one aspect of these data: the
percent of the population ages 18 to 44 who have not competed high school
or do not have an equivalency degree.

Whenever county data are reviewed, it is best
to remember that Indiana has a large population that does not participate
in public schools for religious reasons and are therefore exempt from
the analysis. For example, it is not surprising to find that 47 percent
of the population ages 18 to 44 in Lagrange County have not completed
high school. However, it should be distressing for all economic development
purposes to find that only five counties (which include the university
counties of Monroe and Tippecanoe) are below 10 percent in this measure.

Morton J. Marcus
Executive Director, Indiana Business Research Center,
Kelley School of Business, Indiana University